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I can find no ref. to this item here or elsewhere, fellas. short production run, or...? came from the estate of a B-17 Togglier / Nose Gunner who flew out of England. Anyhow please comment, thanks!

The red, black and gold ovals are West German (Federal Republic of Germany) . I have collected Assmann marked badges for a long time and I am convinced that although there are some badges (both jump wings and CIB's) that look like they were made by Assmann, I personally don't believe they were. Assmann marked US badges were made as early as 1946 Post WWII and up to just after the Korean war probably mid 1950's. Unmarked Assmann looking badges were made by who knows?

OK here from Howard's excellent site the only other I've found -- and it has LARGE Assmann "A" logo (credit: hglanham.tripod.com)

Hello, I got this badge. The previous owner knew nothing about it. Not what it is and where it comes from. So no story was sold. The badge is very similar to the Assmann variant. The material is not magnetic and does not appear like chrome. Can you identify this badge further? Copy? Thanks and Greetings

Here are my FRG Jump Wings note the Assmann look a likes on bottom row.

Here is a real Assmann parachutist badge and marked A 267. It was modified from a Master Parachutist Badge that bears the A 267 mark. The Basic Parachutist badge was actually marked A 265. Put the two wings side by side and you will notice subtle differences in the design which indicates a different die was used. The other photo is of all three grades.

Many thanks for the answer. Aren't there also unmarked Assmann jump wings?

The obvious part first. It is a US pattern Army or USAF basic parachutist badge or basic jump wings. It may be German made but not by Assmann as I believe all of theirs are marked with the stylized letter A. These also may be German jump wings from the period 1956-57 (after WWII) when The German army was rebuilding. They used US pattern jump wings and German colored ovals or backgrounds for a short period. I believe that this is what you have.

You're correct. Those are Assmann clutches... This is a great resource. Your Assmann example is near the bottom of the page. https://hglanham.tripod.com/metalinsignia2/datingclutches.html

I believe that your wings are like the one shown below. This is an unknown maker in my opinion and most likely Post WWII. Some call these Assmann unmarked wings. I don't believe that Assmann made them, but they are similar in design to Assmann wings on the front. The back side tells the story. All real Assmann badges that I have seen and handled are marked with their distinctive letter A with an extended crossbar plus a number and the back side is completely different. In the case of basic Assmann jump wings it should be numbered 265. These wings below are Assmann look alikes and most likely made in Germany after WWII. The sterling clutches are removable and could be from any badge to include CIB's & EIB's. Your example shows a lot of polishing and wear, but you should probably see the similarity. It is a nice set of wings but most likely Post WWII.

After WWII the German Insignia maker F.W. Assmann & Sohne switched from manufacturing badges and medals for the defeated Third Reich to making US Rank and other badges & Insignia for the occupation forces. Assmann made numerous badges, distinctive unit insignia and rank (officer and enlisted) for the US Army and all were marked with a stylized letter "A" with an extended cross bar. Usually there was also a die(?) or inventory number as shown below. For example, The Bird Colonel eagle is marked with A 107. The Colonel eagles were both marked A 107 even though a different die had to have been used. That makes me believe that the number was for inventory control (Item number). These Assmann made rank insignia can be found in both pinback and clutch back styles. The markings start with A 102 for both 2nd Lt and 1st Lt, A 104 for Captain, A 106 for Major and Lieutenant Colonel and A 107 for both right and left facing Colonel eagles. It appears that the 2nd Lt and Major rank insignia were plated to create 1st Lt and Lt Col insignia. I have not as yet found any marked A 103 or A 105. These are interesting US Rank variations that are not often seen and not mentioned under this topic before as far as I know.

Many thanks- I will investigate the Assmann mark further. Regards Rob.

The second button that has "Excelsior" is NY state militia/guard. I don't know if it's Civil War period or later. The third button, while a mystery as to purpose, I believe is made by the German company, Assmann, judging by the (what I call) the winged "A" back stamp.

To add to this display of CMB's, here is the post war Assmann & Sohne marked CMB. The German maker Assmann is noted for its quality and detail. The marking is A 260. Assmann also made a 2nd Award CMB which is marked A 261. I do not have an example of the 2nd Award, but I am looking.

It’s just too bad the CIB itself wasn’t Assmann.

I would guess it was made by Assmann. I have an Assmann marked Flight Engineer wing with similar markings on the back. Remi

These are post war German made US paratrooper wings. I've seen one marked STERLING but the metal didn't look sterling siver. I've seen one with a crude "A" incised on the reverse but not the Assmann "A". They also made senior and master versions.

Senior Aviator wings made by Assmann (Germany) marked A 270/71. The 2 is a bit faint on this example. I don't believe that Assmann made Master Army Aviator wings since they were not authorized until 1957.

You are welcome. I have also seen Assmann master parachutist wings converted to basic after someone removed the star and wreath. Basic wings were more in demand evidently than the higher grades since it only takes five jumps to earn the basic and years of experience and jumpmaster qualification to earn the higher levels. Still the Assmann marked badges are getting harder to find as they only made them a short while after WWII up until sometime in the 1950's.

The German manufacturer Assmann & Sohne also made US Army flight wings as well as numerous other US Insignia. Here is a basic pilot badge made by Assmann and marked A 270/71. I have never seen a master aviator badge with Assmann markings and since the master wings were not authorized until 1957, I doubt if they did.

Got this nice CMB Does it look good?

It has been a while since I contributed to this topic, so I thought I would post my examples here. Thanks to several Forum members I have been able to put together this grouping of Assmann Combat and Expert Infantryman Badges. You will note that there are both light and dark blue color shades on several of the badges. While I have no proof, I wonder if the lighter shade was the earlier type. If anyone knows the reason for different colors, please respond. You will also notice that the 1/2 size EIB is still missing from this group. I am still patiently working on finding a miniature EIB which BTW is also marked A 193/95 like the two miniature CIB's. Assmann made some absolutely beautifully detailed insignia in the post WWII era and probably up to the mid 1950's.

A few more. First a Sterling marked one with no maker's mark. NS Meyer. This is a two piece 'affair'. Next a completely unmarked one. I also have a German made one by Assmann & Söhne and one made by Robbins Co. but since triplecanopy already posted some nice examples I won't be adding them here.

Post WW2 Assmann example

Your wings were made by Assmann, but were originally senior parachutist jump wings. Someone removed the star probably because Basic wings were not available and the owner was not Jumpmaster qualified. I have seen this done on both senior and master jump wings. The numbers tell the story. See photo below. Still a scarce badge to have.